The Key West Citizen App Feed2020-01-31T15:02:53-05:0011815205Governor awards $30M grant to FKAA2020-01-31T06:01:15-05:00Christmas came way early for the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority on Thursday when Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a $30 million state grant that will allow the emergency freshwater supply plant on Stock Island to be replaced.

The grant will come through the state’s Rebuild Florida program, which channels state and federal funds to communities like the Florida Keys, to pay for damage from recent hurricanes. The FKAA grant will be used to replace the aging reverse osmosis, or desalination, plant on Stock Island. The plant is used as an emergency water supply in case water lines from the mainline fail during a storm or other emergency.

“We understand the Keys were ground zero in those storms,” DeSantis said at a press conference held Thursday behind the Stock Island plant. “This grant will repair and replace the reverse osmosis plant to provide that critical source of water.”

FKAA board members had been struggling with how to replace the plant since Hurricane Irma hit in 2017. During Irma, the desalination plant, built in 1967, initially helped refill municipal water tanks but failed shortly after water from the mainland transmission pipes had been restored. The plant is only able to produce 2 million gallons per day of filtered water when the Lower Keys uses about 8 million gallons. The filtering system is also outdated.

The FKAA board has discussed different funding options for the plant replacement, estimated to cost between $35 and $40 million. Grants and bonding were top of the list. But borrowing the money through a bond issue would have put the cost squarely on the shoulders of Monroe County ratepayers. FKAA officials earlier estimated borrowing the money would have caused a 5% rate increase in the 2017-18 fiscal year.

“We’re really grateful to the governor and the [state] Department of Economic Opportunity. This will make a huge difference to the citizens of the Florida Keys,” Shelby said. “We’ll get to work on getting it designed and out to bid.”

The Aqueduct Authority wasn’t the only local entity to end Thursday with a Rebuild Florida grant check. DeSantis announced grants of $1.7 million to Key West and $6.2 million to Marathon to help pay for wastewater and other infrastructure repairs from damage from Hurricane Irma.

Key West City Manager Greg Veliz, who wasn’t informed about the grant until late Wednesday night, said he already knows where the money will be spent: replacing the wastewater pipes on the Fleming Key Bridge, which attached to the sides of the bridge. The pipes have been damaged twice this year due to boat strikes.

“It’s been hit twice and compromised. This [grant] will allow us to put the pipes underwater, under the ground, so it will be protected,” Veliz said.

Gov. DeSantis was also asked by The Citizen whether he will support an amendment to a state bill that would allow more development in the Florida Keys in return for adding six hours of additional hurricane evacuation time.

To address the evacuation safety concerns of many county officials, the amendment, added to the proposed bill on Wednesday, would change mandatory resident evacuation time from 24 to 30 hours.

H.B. 587 calls for the state to pay half of the legal costs in Monroe County for takings lawsuits. Some state legislators want to reduce what could potentially be millions of dollars in future legal bills by allowing more development in the Keys, thereby reducing the number of property owners suing the county because current state and local development regulations limit the amount of new construction.

DeSantis was non-committal whether he would support the amendment.

“I am not sure about the amendment. I just let the legislative process go and not micromanage it. If I have to come down, I will,” DeSantis said.

psowers@keysnews.com

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Governor Rick DeSantis, at podium, pictured with left to right, Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority board director Antoinette Appell, FKAA board chairman Bob Dean, City of Key West Mayor Teri Johnston, City of Key West Vice-Mayor Samuel Kaufman, Monroe County Mayor Heather Carruthers and County Commissioner David Rice announced a multi-million dollar state grant for replacement of the Kermit H. Lewin Seawater Desalination Facility based on Stock Island during a Thursday morning press conference. (CAROL TEDESCO/The Citizen)

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The damaged and failing Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority reverse osmosis plant located on Stock Island was built in 1967.

2020-01-31T00:00:00-05:001By PRU SOWERS
Key West CitizenChristmas came way early for the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority on Thursday when Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a $30 million state grant that will allow the emergency freshwater supply plant on Stock Island to be replaced.The grant will come through